After a tough round of the IAS mains exam, all the aspirants feel elated on having cleared it! But certainly the round that comes after the written mains exam is even more grilling and evaluative in terms of your personality and over-all impression. Having cleared the written round already testifies the fact that your knowledge is rock solid but the inner side of your personality cannot be reflected through your excellent performance in the previous phase. The best policy for candidates is to stay absolutely cool and positive about their interview preparations and start their preparations from an adequate amount of time ahead of the D-day! As an aspirant one should make sure that they have enough time to work upon their weaknesses and their nitty-gritty mistakes! The best tips that can come handy for an IAS interviewee are largely based on the following criteria-
Overall Personality
The UPSC interview is not meant your general or broad-termed knowledge, it is meant to assess your personality so be as genuine as you can be, without pomp or deception! Every action, statement and gesture of yours will be scrutinised and the board will consider it as a part of your overall personality; so make sure that you stay pleasant, calm and true.
Soft Skills and Etiquettes
Another aspect that is thoroughly tested is your soft skills, social behaviour, manners and etiquettes. Since you'd be expected to hold an office of the most revered position, the panel will naturally check whether you have the right demeanour for that or not.
Mental Attentiveness: Keep your senses open!
The interviewer can ask you anything out of the blue, so keep in mind to keep your eyes and ears open. While obviously you cannot just soak in information about everything around you, but keep an eye for detail and be ready with some witty answers at the back of your mind.
Use logic!
The civil services interviews are famous for checking the smartness and logical bend of mind of the candidates; so prove yourself as one who relies on good sense. The panel will not stress upon the depth of your knowledge, rather it will test you on implementations, necessity and the way you deal with simple make-believe situations.Â
Be thoroughly apprised with Current Affairs
Another great tip for IAS candidates who are fortunate enough to sit for the interview is to keep your current affairs highly brushed up. Since the interviewing panel will consist of people who are experts in different fields so you'll be expected to know a great deal about what's happening in the present global scenario.
Be a good listener
As mentioned earlier, the IAS interview is not a skill or knowledge test; rather it will grill you on your personality based arenas. A number of aspirants fall prey to the rush of adrenaline inside their head and end up answering questions without listening to them. Keep the good listener in you alive as you'll surely need to understand what the interviewer wants before answering.
Show positivity and warmth in your attitude
The basic tip for the IAS interview or any interview in general is to appear absolutely calm, pleasant and carry an aura of positivity around you that welcomes the interviewers. You might include some of your personal experiences provided it is relevant, that will give an immense feeling of warmth to your conversation. Be it the pathetic condition of Indian railway coaches or the grandeur of Indian tourism; you should try to craft your answers in a way that they appear to come right from within your true personality.